The big day has finally arrived...

Alex's farewell was on June 29.  He did a great job with his talk.  We were very proud of him.  Afterwards we held a luncheon at our house.  Thank you to all those who came to support us and for all those who couldn't come but were there in spirit. 

July 1, 2014  

Alex is officially a missionary.

Afterwards we went and got ice cream.  Later we played some basketball in the front yard in the dark with the porch lights on.  We had fun playing "lightning" and not keeping score so Ethan wouldn't be out right away.  The little boys found a big toad to play with.

The kids had one last slumber party together in Alex's room.  This was only possible because I made him clean his room before he left.  The little ones were happy to spend this special time with their big brother.  They are going to miss him so much.

 

July 2, 2014

The tears started as we pulled out of the driveway.  It was going to be a hard day for us all.

saying good-bye

I recently read something that Brigham Young said many years ago.  He said, "Every good Latter-Day Saint in the spirit world is busy.  What are they doing there?  They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work..."    So I have two missionaries- one on each side of the veil.  I know they will be working together.  What a comforting feeling it is to know that they are truly making a difference.  I am proud of both of my boys.  And I look forward to the day when I will be with them both again- one in two years and one in another lifetime.

 

 

 

One last meal together.  We had a delicious meal at Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Provo (it's better than Rodizio).  It was exciting to see a few other missionaries with their families as well.  Adam and Ethan loved being able to get all the meat they wanted.  We were all brave and tried the chicken hearts.  Yes, even Alex.  Poor Ethan gagged his down and I admit I needed some water to get mine down.  It was kind of chewy and it didn't help knowing what it actually was.

We all ate way too much.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem but with anticipating what was coming up (the goodbyes) on top of a full stomach, mine started to hurt a little.

We went to a park across from the Provo Temple to say our goodbyes.  There were many other families there as well, but we had no problem finding a private area.  The kids (including Alex and Mike) all played catch with the football to pass the time.  We only had about 30 minutes until Alex would be leaving.  We took many pictures and then it was time.  The tears flowed from us all.  Actually Ethan wasn't crying and that was a huge blessing.  Poor Adam sat on the ground and I went to console him.  This was much harder than I had ever imagined.  I felt like my heart was being ripped out for a second time.  I almost couldn't handle losing another son, even though this one would be coming home again.  It really takes faith to do hard things.  I know our family and many others will be blessed by Alex leaving.  So, yes it was hard, but it is so worth it.

 

 

 

 

The MTC is only a minute or so from the park.  We cried the entire drive there.  I was so proud of Alex.  He shed tears, but he was brave and kept it together.  Not once did he rethink his decision.  I am glad he couldn't read my mind.  I almost told Mike to just keep on driving.  The truth is, that had we brought Alex home I am sure we would have been arguing like mothers and teenagers do by the next day and then I would have wanted to send him back.

  We had a few more minutes as we unloaded his things at the MTC for the "final hugs" and more tears.  And then he was off.  He walked away and then looked back to smile and wave.  Someone had told us to tell him to do this and I am so glad.  I am so happy that the last thing I saw was a huge smile on his face.  He was in the Lord's hands now.  All would be ok and we would be reunited again in two years.

The Lotts can do hard things!!!

We will miss you Elder Lott.  We love you more than you can imagine.  We are so proud of you.

See you in TWO !!!!

Lotts going on

 

 

Mike worked in California the last week of May.  The kids and I joined him and had a blast soaking up the sun all week long.  This is the second year we have gone with him and it is truly the best vacation ever.  We sleep in, stay up late and swim all day long.  Poor Mike doesn't agree as he has to actually work.  I did remind him that he did get to see us at lunch a few times and at least he wasn't alone in the evenings.  Alex stayed back home and enjoying the place to himself.  He even took up a little fishing with his Grandpa while we were gone.

 

 

 

We pretty much had the pool to ourselves all week long and it was great.

 

 

 

I even enjoyed playing around in the water with the kids. 

Now that's a knife.  We went to the Bass Pro shop and Alex drooled when we sent him this picture.

Doing some fishing in Mantua.

 

 

Tuckered out after a long hard week of swimming.

 

 

 

This made me smile.  And it is so true.

 

 

I like to take pictures of things I read so I can find them later.  I came across these while reading the Ensign lately.  These words have given me much comfort and so I would like to share them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My cute turkeys.  (and no this isn't a new pet of ours)

 

We enjoyed our last family vacation together with Alex in Yellowstone.  It was a family reunion and we had a lot of fun with relatives.  It was very beautiful and the weather was great.  We did get poured on one day and that was a fun adventure. 

 

Mike and I and the trees

 

 

 

 

We had a huge snowball fight afterwards.  It was pretty fun and I am sure passing cars thought we had never seen the snow before.

 

 What a nice big brother.

 

 

 

We saw three bears.  It was very exciting.  This grizzly crossed the road and we were lucky to get a quick picture of it.  Boy was I glad we were in our car as we were only about 25 feet away from it.

 

 

 Jaime is an official teenager now.  She celebrated her 13th b-day while we were in Yellowstone. (Read the sign behind her.  It's pretty funny)

 

 

Can't believe it has been so long.  We love and miss you Ryan...  so much.

 

 June 12, 2014